Leeds venue The Well to close next month

The manager of Leeds’ The Well has revealed that the venue will be closing next month.

The 375-capacity venue, which primarily plays host to punk and hardcore live gigs, will close its doors on March 10 for the final time. It has hosted the likes of Gallows and Rolo Tomassi a number of times during its years as a venue.

The venue’s General Manager Kevin Berry has posted a detailed statement about the reasons behind the closure, principally blaming the venue’s owners for not allowing the Well to “to break even never mind make anything which resembles a profit”. He also said that he believes the owners are planning to turn the venue into a restaurant.

Writing on the venue’s official website Thewellleeds.com, Berry said: “We as a team are going to be pulling out of The Well music venue after March 10. We’ve loved helping rebuild this once great venue’s reputation back up these past few years, and would like to thank all who mucked in.”

He continued: “Sadly The Well isn’t a viable business due to our brewery superiors & building owners Enterprise Inns’ rates and J Pullen and Sons and the restrictions they implement on us running our music venue. Everyday has been an uphill battle from day one and frankly we’re all tired of this vicious circle and fighting with two other companies to carry on. There has been no leeway with either company over the years and have had to find ways of working around them.”

The statement concluded: “Sadly with the sheer level of restrictions (partly due to the building possibly being turned into a restaurant in the future) there is no way to break even never mind make anything which resembles a profit. I, Anthony Mortimer, Chris Flynn and others in the past have worked endless weekly hours with no wage to try and make this venue work, sadly all our efforts have been for nought.”

Asked by NME about The Well’s closure, a spokesperson for Enterprise Inns’ said that they were presently unaware that the The Well’s managers were planning to close the venue, but would be monitoring the situation closely. They also declined to comment on Berry’s claims that the venue’s high rent was hampering its profitability.

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The last show at The Well will be on March 10 and will feature The Acacia Strain, Brutality Will Prevail, TRC & Martyr. A free party for the venue will be held afterwards. All gigs booked for after this date will be moved to other venues.
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